CES 2006: Dead Rising Hands-On

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We test drive Capcom's Xbox 360 take on zombie killing.

By Aaron Boulding

Zombies will never get a fair shake on videogame consoles. Not when there are new entries in the zombie-killing (survival horror is too broad a term) genre like Capcom's Dead Rising. The short demo we played at CES proved that no matter how polished an clean zombies can look on a home console, they look even better when you've abused them with all sorts of handy weapons.

We had a chance to play a bit in the mall level as Frank, a photographer who just happens to be handy with a 2x4. In fact the weapon selection on the level we tried was the most impressive part of the demo. There's a hardware store located in this mall and it's overflowing with dangerous items that zombies will love. The aforementioned 2x4 worked well along with lead pipes, pistols, sledgehammers, shotguns and chainsaws. Each weapon obviously has its strengths and weaknesses that the player has to always keep in mind. The hammer is a lot of fun to use and super effective but it's got a slow backswing before you can deal the damage to that zombie noggin.Timing your swing just right so that the hammer head is coming forward as the target zombie comes into range is key. The chainsaw on the other hand is taylor-made for slicing a swath through a pack of enemies in front of you but you have to be careful not to let yourself get outflanked by the remaining zombies standing on either side of you as you press forward.

Created by the team that worked on the Onimusha series, Dead Rising is looking to deliver the solid feel of that popular adventure series. We're expecting to see hundreds of animated, "killable" zombies on screen at once in Dead Rising. With that many zombies around, you're going to need all of those weapon options at your disposal.

The visual elements of Dead Rising were impressive as well. The fac of the main character was super detailed with shadows and you could read his emotions fairly easily. The zombies themselves exploded with a satisfying splash whenever you took to their bodies with a bludgeoning weapon or firearm. Some zombies were more aggressive than others since only three or four would lumber towards you at a time. The rest seemed to stay in a sort of steady non-threatening stagger animation most of the time. It may be best to think of it as an extended death march before they meet their fate at your hands.

Dead Rising will be bringing zombie killing to the Xbox 360 later in 2006.